OSCE/ ODIHR: police should protect security of demonstrations from provocateurs

OSCE/ ODIHR: police should protect security of demonstrations from provocateurs

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, today urged the authorities in Armenia to protect and ensure the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the country, as protests there continue.

“All people have a fundamental right to express their opinion in peaceful protests. Law enforcement authorities must not only refrain from interfering with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, but have a responsibility to facilitate this right. This includes ensuring the safety and security of participants in the face of any disruptions, such as by agent provocateurs or counter-protestors”, the ODIHR Director said.

Gísladóttir highlighted the willingness of the Armenian authorities to engage in dialogue with the opposition. At the same time, the ODIHR Director expressed concern over reported instances of the disproportionate use of force by Armenian police against peaceful protestors, including minors.

For 8 days in row the Armenian opposition continues holding mass protests against the ex-president Serzh Sargsyan becoming the new Prime Minister of the country. The protesters hold demonstrations in the center of the capital attempting to block government buildings and close main streets of the city. On April 19, during the mass demonstrations in the Republic Square, the leader of “Way out” opposition fraction and one of the main initiators of the protests, Nikol Pashinyan urged everyone to block the streets in the capital from morning of April 20. Protesters followed the urges of Pashinyan and started blocking major streets in the center of Yerevan since early morning.

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